Refrigerated dispensing cabinet having outer decorative door and inner locked product access door



Fe 6. 1968 B. A. ANDREWS ETAL 3,

REFRIGERATED DISPENSING CABINET HAVING OUTER DECORATIVE DOOR AND INNER LOCKED PRODUCT ACCESS DOOR Filed July 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 vi INVENTORS. d. Bo/ey ,0. Andrews B: Elmer 6. Johnson 3,367, NSING CABINET HAVING OUTER DECOR 730 ATIVE Feb. 6. 1968 s. A. ANDREWS ETAL REFRIGERATED DISPE DOOR AND INNER LOCKED PRODUCT ACCESS DOOR Filed July 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QQdQQ-QQ Em N Am - INVENTORS. BQ/eg ,4. filndr'ews E/mer' C. Johnson United States Patent 3,367,730 REFRiGERATElD DESPENSING CABINET HAV- ING GUTiER DECORATHVE DGOR AND INNER LOCKED PRODUCT ACtIESS DUOR Holey A. Andrews, Mission, Kans., and Elmer C. Johnson, Raytown, MO., assignors to The Vendo Company, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed .luiy 25, 1966, S-er. No. 567,478 6 Ciairns. (Cl. 312-204) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A vending machine cabinet is provided with an inner, lockable, noninsulated door and an outer, unlocked, insulated door which conceals the inner door from view when closed. The inner door precludes customer access to the dispensing mechanism within the cabinet, but is apertured to permit product delivery therethrough and allow the customer to deposit the required coinage. The outer door is normally closed and is decorated to coincide with the decor of the vending area, thereby disguising the cabinet to provide no external clue that the latter contains a vending machine.

This invention relates to cabinets for vending machines and, more particularly, to a vending machine provided with a refrigerated dispensing cabinet having an outer decorative door and an inner locked product access door.

Generally, in the past, vending machines have had external features such as coin slots and product-delivery means which readily revealed the character of the equipment and prevented the same from being utilized in areas where the presence thereof would disturb the aesthetic or businesslike appearance of the area. Therefore, it is the primary object of the instant invention to provide a vending machine having a cabinet which provides no external clue to the function of the machine and which may be finished to coincide with the decor of the area wherein the machine is to be utilized.

Another very important object of the present invention is to provide such a vending machine having an inner lockable door to prevent pilfering, and an outer, decorative door concealing the inner door and the deposit controlled dispensing mechanism.

Yet another important object of the invention is the provision of novel lock mechanism providing support for the inner door of such a vending machine to the end that bendable sheet metal may be used in the construction of the inner door and yet the lock mechanism will preclude bending thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an outer, insulated, decorative door provided with a flexible seal on the face thereof so that the temperature inside the cabinet may be maintained at a different level than the temperature surrounding the cabinet. In this respect, it is an important aim of the invention to provide magnetized components on the outer door whereby the same may be maintained in a closed condition during standby periods.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine embodying the principles of the instant invention illustrating the outer door in a close-d condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 with the outer door in an open condition revealing the inner door and the deposit controlled product dispensing mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing both the outer door and the inner door in open condition;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, top, fragmentary, cross-sectional, detail view of the vending machine shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, rear elevational view of the inner door illustrating the details of the lock means; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view partly in cross-section of the components shown in FIG. 5.

A vending machine constructed in accordance with the concepts of the instant invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 and broadly designated by the numeral 10. Machine 10 comprises an insulated cabinet 12 having an opening 14 in one face 16 thereof. Deposit controlled product dispensing mechanism broadly designated by the numeral 18 is housed within cabinet 12. Mechanism 18 includes a deposit-receiving slot 20 and a series of product-dispensing stations 22. The exact details of mechanism 18 are fully understood by those skilled in the art and thus further description of the same is unnecessary. Reference is made to US. Patent No. 2,766,906 for example.

Cabinet 12 has a lower portion 24 for housing conventional refrigeration equipment and it is to be under stood that heating equipment could similarly be installed within portion 24 of cabinet 12 if the product to be dispensed is preferably in a warm condition. Cabinet 12 has a primary, decorative, insulated, unlocked door 26 disposed in closing relationship to opening 14, and a secondary, lockable, non-insulated door 28 pivotally mounted on the cabinet in normal closing relationship to opening 14. As can best be seen in FIG. 1, door 28 is concealed by door 26 when the latter is in its closed position.

The walls of cabinet 12. include a layer of insulating material 30 sheathed with plates 32. Plates 32 present a lip 34 bent over face 16 at the side and upper margins of the latter. Lip 34 is preferably constructed of a metallic material for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

Door 28 is preferably constructed from bendable sheet metal material to minimize construction expense. A plate 36 extends rightwardly across opening 14- from the lefthand margin of the latter presenting stations 22 and underlying door 28 when the latter is disposed in closing relationship to opening 14. Slot 20 is disposed beneath plate 36 and door 28 has a pair of vertically aligned apertures 38 providing access to stations 22 and slot 26 when door 28 is closed.

Selectively operable lock means 40 is carried by door 28 and includes shiftable structure 42 disposed to engage shoulder means in the nature of a pair of separate shoulder means 44 and 46 disposed on cabinet 12 at a pair of spaced locations adjacent the perimeter of door 28 when lock means 40 is in locked condition. Shoulder element 44 is presented by the lower right-hand corner of plate 36, while shoulder element 46 is in the nature of a tab depending from cabinet 12 at the upper margin of opening 14, as can be seen from viewing FIG. 3.

Structure 42 includes a latch arm 48 mounted for rotation with a shaft 50, the latter being rotatable by a key 52 selectively inserted in a keyhole 54. Arm 48 has an end 56 disposed to swing behind shoulder element 44 when shaft 50, and thereby arm 48, is rotated by key 52. An elongated bar 58 is pivotally mounted on the opposite end 60 of arm 48 and extends upwardly adjacent door 28 and through guide means 62 located adjacent the upper margin of door 28 as best illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. Bar 58 has an upper extremity 64 disposed to shift behind tab 46 when bar 58 is shifted upwardly by a clockwise rotation of arm 48, viewing FIG. 5.

Door 26 is provided with a flexible seal 66 on the face of door 26 proximal to cabinet 12 when door 26 is closed. As can be seen from viewing FIGS. 2 and 3, seal 66 is disposed to surround opening 14 when door 26 is closed and thereby prevent flow of ambient air into cabinet 12 when door 26 is in its closed condition. Seal 66 includes magnetized components 63 located to engage metallic lip 34 and maintain door 26 in its closed position.

When door 28 is closed and locked, end 56 of arm 48 is engaged behind shoulder element 44, and extremity 64 is engaged behind tab 46. Additionally, bar 58 provides support for door 28 and thus, door 28 is reinforced to discourage bending thereof and pilferage of products from the cabinet. It can be seen, viewing FIG. 1, that when door 26 is closed, the external appearance of machine gives no clue to its purpose. Manifestly, machine 19 may have an artistically designed, external appearance coinciding with the decor of any area and thus enhances rather than disrupts the aesthetic value of the area.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A vending machine comprising:

an insulated cabinet having an access opening in one face thereof and housing deposit controlled product dispensing mechanism;

a secondary, lockable, non-insulated door pivotally mounted on the cabinet in normal closing relationship to said opening and configured to permit product delivery therethrough upon customer deposit but precluding access to the dispensing mechanism; and

a primary, decorative, insulated, unlocked door on the cabinet in closing relationship to said opening and concealing said secondary door when in a closed position.

2. A vending machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said secondary door is constructed of bendable sheet material, and selectively operable lock means carried by said secondary door and disposed to engage the cabinet at a plurality of locations adjacent the perimeter of the secondary door when the lock means is in locked condition to provide reinforcement for the sheet material and thereby discourage bending of the secondary door and pilferage of products from the cabinet.

3. A vending machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said primary door is provided with a flexible seal on the face thereof proximal to the cabinet when the primary door is closed and surrounding said opening in the cabinet for preventing flow of ambient air into the cabinet when the primary door is closed.

4. A vending machine as set forth in claim 3, wherein at least the portion of said cabinet surrounding and defining said opening therein is of metal and said flexible seal is provided with magnetized components whereby said components serve as the principal means for maintaining the primary door in the closed position thereof.

5. The invention of claim 2, wherein said cabinet has shoulder means located adjacent the perimeter of the secondary door, said lock means including selectively shiftable structure disposed to engage said shoulder means when the lock means is in locked condition.

6. The invention of claim 5, wherein said shoulder means includes a pair of spaced-apart shoulder elements, said structure including a latch arm pivotally mounted on said secondary door having an end disposed for engagement with one of said elements when said arm is pivoted into its locked condition and an elongated bar swingably mounted on said arm for movement along the longitudinal axis of the bar as the arm pivots, said bar having an extremity disposed for engagement with the other of said elements when the bar is moved by the arm, there being guide means on said secondary door spaced from said arm for directing said bar toward said other element as the bar is moved.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,723,896 11/1955 Wurtz 3 l2-296 3,056,639 10/1962 Caminker et al. 3l2-204 X 3,248,159 4/1966 Hall 312-296 3,287,079 11/1966 Courson 3 l229l CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner. 

